14 Members of a Violent Gang in Arroyo, Puerto Rico, Charged with Drug Trafficking

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On August 27, 2025, a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment charging 14 gang members from the municipality of Arroyo with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Puerto Rico Police Bureau (PRPB) Guayama Strike Force were in charge of the investigation of the case. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Response Team (SRT) collaborated during the arrests.

“These arrests show the relentless determination of the United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners to hold accountable criminal enterprises that use violence and intimidation to control drug territory,” said U.S. Attorney Muldrow. “We will continue to dismantle violent gangs and make our communities safer.”

“The FBI will not allow violent gangs to dictate the quality of life or diminish hope for the people of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands,” said Devin J. Kowalski, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s San Juan Field Office. “Our office, together with our partners, will continue to dismantle criminal organizations fueling terror in our streets. The deliberate efforts of thugs to destroy prosperity will be met with the FBI’s relentless efforts to crush violent crime and defend the homeland.”

The indictment alleges that from 2020 through the present, the drug trafficking organization distributed cocaine base (commonly known as “crack”), cocaine, fentanyl or a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of any analogue of fentanyl, and marihuana within 1,000 feet of the Isidro Cora Public Housing Project (PHP), and other areas nearby the municipality of Arroyo, all for significant financial gain and profit.

As part of the conspiracy, the defendants established a drug distribution point operating within three apartments inside the Isidro Cora PHP, and that sellers would sell drugs through a window or balcony to avoid being seen and/or detected by law enforcement. Some of the defendants and their co-conspirators mixed fentanyl into the cocaine to be sold at the drug points as well as mixing xylazine with the fentanyl – a deadly combination. Court documents also reflect at least two overdose deaths of drug customers within the Isidro Cora PHP.

The defendants acted in different roles to further the goals of the drug trafficking conspiracy, to include: leaders, runners, sellers, and facilitators. The members of the gang used force, violence, and intimidation to threaten rival drug trafficking organizations, and to discipline members of their own organization, to include giving beatings to other co-conspirators and residents of the housing projects, with different weapons, including horse whips, as a disciplinary measure if they stepped out of line.

The defendants charged in the drug trafficking conspiracy are:

[1] Eduardo Contreras-Hernández, a.k.a. “Eddie/Paleta/Tipo/Paletita”

[2] Juan Carlos Soto-Santos, a.k.a. “Juanka”

[3] Jeremy E. Rodríguez-Cruz, a.k.a. “Gordo/Arabe”

[4] Edwin García-González, a.k.a. “Tabaco”

[5] José A. Torres-Figueroa, a.k.a. “Cholo”

[6] José A. Ruiz-Morales, a.k.a. “Shano”

[7] Yenaritza N. Escobar-Santiago, a.k.a. “Yuyo”

[8] Hermenegildo Ruiz-Robledo

[9] Mónica González-Rivera

[10] Savon Lee-Ewin, a.k.a. “Gringo”

[11] Joseph Rivera-Bustamante

[12] José Melendez-Pizarro, a.k.a. “Cabrilla”

[13] Victor Alexis Collazo-Bones, a.k.a. “Molle”

[14] Anyeli Andreina-Medina

Defendant [1] Eduardo Contreras-Hernández is also charged in Count Six with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. If convicted on the drug charges, the defendants face a minimum sentence of 10 years, and up to life in prison. If convicted of both the drug and firearms charges in Count Six, Contreras-Hernández faces a minimum sentence of 15 years, and up to life in prison. All defendants charged in the drug conspiracy are facing a narcotics forfeiture allegation of $2,850,900.

The FBI thanks the PRPB Guayama Strike Force for their assistance in this investigation. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) and Chief of the Gang Section Alberto López-Rocafort, Deputy Chief of the Gang Section, AUSA Teresa Zapata-Valladares, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney from the Puerto Rico Department of Justice Daphne M. Cordero-Guilloty are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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